CFB Wknd PreviewQuasi-Title Game of the Week:
Texas (No. 2) at Ohio St (4):
Simply put: One team's national title hopes will end.
If only the "O" in Ohio really meant "Oklahoma." Pick:
UT. (8, ABC)

"Prove It" Game of the Week:
Notre Dame (20) at Michigan (3):
Who else wants to believe in Weis? I'll bet he schemes
ND's way into keeping it close, but Michigan has the
huge talent edge. Pick: UM. (12, ABC)

Emotional Game of the Week:
LSU (5) at Arizona St (15):
Considering the game was supposed to be in Baton
Rouge, ASU students should wear purple and gold. LSU
will be motivated. Pick: LSU (9, ESPN)

More: Spurrier has a "This-ain't-Florida"
moment when he takes SC to Georgia (5:30, ESPN);
Oklahoma will obliterate Tulsa. (They better.)

MLB WrapRed Sox at Yankees: Who would guess
that ending a series with Tampa to play Boston would
be seen as a relief by Yankee fans?

Bonds Update: This weekend?!

NL Wild Card: The Marlins (.5 GB HOU) play the
struggling Phillies; the Astros play the Brewers and
feature a Clemens start.

AL Wild Card: Thanks to the Yankees' ineptitude
vs. the D-Rays, the Indians, who actually won, moved
into the WC lead for the first time.

Katrina UpdateSaints Scheduling: 4 games in San
Antonio and 3 at LSU, reportedly; let's hope it's not
the knee-jerk reaction to put them in NY for Week 2
that ends up being the difference between playoffs and
not.

Quickie Book ClubI love any studies of fandom, so I
really enjoyed Jere Longman's book about Eagles fans
in 2004, "If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We
Have a Prayer?" Eagles fans are a sick
bunch.

Under-.500 Mockery:Can't kick around the Padres anymore: They went one
game over .500 on Thursday night. But there's still a
lot of season left...